The present application relates to a method of forming a semiconductor structure. More particularly, the present application provides a method in which a III-V compound semiconductor channel material is grown from exposed sidewalls of a semiconductor mandrel within an NFET device region. The III-V compound semiconductor channel material is grown after formation of any PFET devices and after formation of a middle of-the-line (MOL) dielectric material within the NFET device region.
For more than three decades, the continued miniaturization of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) has driven the worldwide semiconductor industry. Various showstoppers to continue scaling have been predicated for decades, but a history of innovation has sustained Moore's Law in spite of many challenges. However, there are growing signs today that MOSFETs are beginning to reach their traditional scaling limits. Since it has become increasingly difficult to improve MOSFETs and therefore complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) performance through continued scaling, further methods for improving performance in addition to scaling have become critical.
The use of non-planar semiconductor devices such as, for example, semiconductor fin field effect transistors (FinFETs), is the next step in the evolution of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. Semiconductor FinFETs can achieve higher drive currents with increasingly smaller dimensions as compared to conventional planar FETs.
III-V compound semiconductors are one promising channel material for NFET devices because of their high-carrier mobility. In the prior art, it is known to grow III-V compound semiconductors from a sidewall of a semiconductor mandrel structure after formation of the sacrificial gate structure, but prior to forming the middle-of-the-line (MOL) dielectric material and replacing the sacrificial gate structure with a functional gate structure. In such processing, the grown III-V compound semiconductor material is not compatible with high processing temperatures that are typically required in forming PFET devices. As such, there is a need for providing a method in which III-V compound semiconductors can be grown from a sidewall of a semiconductor mandrel structure without being subjected to the high processing temperatures typically used in forming the PFET devices.